varchar's comments

My family has lived in South India for many decades. India's infrastructure and emergency response in not very good although it has improved over the years. One thing I have observed is - it is the bystanders, the common man who rushe to the aid of victims in case of disasters - accidents, train derailment, floods, earthquakes. I could give you dozens of examples gathered from newspapers and from first hand experiences of kith and kin. People just jump in and start helping in such situations. People help each other especially when the emergency response is not reliable or immediately available. If your car slid into a ditch in rural Minnesota, passing cars will come to your aid. Where as in New York City, people may just drive by knowing that you will get a tow truck. This is the issue with reports like this - they pick one or two such statistically rare case and write a report it, opening the door wide to generalization especially on a globally popular news site. For every such incident, I'm sure there are tens of thousands incidents where people help, which never get reported.

Interesting. Most comments seem focused on code complexity. In real life situations the complexity is blend of human interactions (attitude, consistency,team,leads, peers, family, emotions) business, market, competition, budget, time, attrition, unexpected events, and more.

Life is complex. Business and workplace dynamics can be complex. People are complex with their own strengths, quirks and situations. Having a broad outlook, developing patience and skills to deal with life and work is part of becoming mature.

I have no doubt that the author has experienced these issues and also agree with him on some points. However here's where the error lies - drawing conclusion from your personal experience and extrapolating it to the entire sector worth perhaps 100 billion dollars and predicting it's impending doom. That's just not how reality works. There will be dozens if not hundreds of examples contrary to your experience.

There may be declines, there will changes, restructuring, recalibration, pains, growth etc. Life and business will go on albeit with changes. A broad vision always helps keeping things in perspective in drawing such conclusions.

With these kinds of advice (entrepreneurial / life), you just take the best lessons and move on.

I like your point by point analysis. But I guess you cannot look at such articles solely through the lens of analysis.

On an unrelated note - I know a lot of successful professionals and entrepreneurs (mostly non tech and some tech). Surprisingly they are not that analytical as one would expect. They have great drive, self belief, instincts, people skills, adaptability, negotiation skills, ability to bounce back and perhaps several other skills. I realized at some point in my career that great intellectual / analytical ability is just one aspect required for a successful career and there were several other important skills / traits.

Warren Buffet famously said (I think in reference to stock analysts who pore through and analyze stocks endlessly)

"Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway."

Interesting to see mainstream news media carry such articles. Many people in ancient India tradition delved into nature of mind, intellect, memory, ego extensively. They considered delving into this "inner world" a worthy pursuit. Vedanta which literally means "end of knowledge or final knowledge" primarily are in the Upanishad texts. They are typically discussions between teacher and students on nature of mind, intellect, ego, meditation, samadhi etc. Very interesting but best learnt under a competent teacher. The tradition is to first experience (through meditation, silence etc.) and then understanding would dawn automatically. The Bhagavad Gita which is said to be over 5000 years old says that "wise sees inaction in action and action in inaction". Almost everyone experiences this sometimes in life. It also talks about the wise one being skilled in both pravritti and nivritti - which broadly means ability to act hundred percent and also the ability to totally let go at appropriate times. This is considered a precious skill.

There is a vast treasure house of wisdom in the Vedantic tradition. But needs a good teacher to correctly interpret it, complemented with regular meditation, reflection etc.

There is large body of ancient Sanskrit literature that is very interesting and ubique. Some of the poetry and prose like Kalidasa, Jayadeva etc. are exquisite.

If you are interested in Yoga, Meditation - you will appreciate the ability study the original texts. Yoga is now a global phenomenon and I personally know many people in the west and elsewhere study Patanjali and other texts.

There is great body of ancient knowledge (like Upanishads) on philosophy, the nature of mind, ego and the true nature one's self which is very unique.

The original texts for the ancient science of Ayurveda are in Sanskrit. There are many good universities in India that offer degrees in Ayurveda and Sanskrit is a prerequisite for studying Ayurveda.

There are several ancient astronomical and mathematical texts in Sanskrit like Sulaba Sutra etc. which are very interesting.

In the Indian tradition all rituals and rites of passage like birth, naming, marriage etc. are in Sanskrit and used on a daily basis although very few people speak the language.

India has an ancient system of classical music which is actively pursued and enjoyed by millions. Many compositions that people learn and sing are in Sanskrit.